PROFITING ON BLACK GOLD

Oil ups and downs

Exxon reports record profits while BP slips

Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said Thursday its net income grew 10 percent in the first quarter.

DONNA MCWILLIAM/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/FILE

BY JOHN PORRETTOTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: Friday, April 27, 2007 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 27, 2007 at 12:00 a.m.

NEW YORK -
Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. kicked off 2007 with a 10 percent rise in profits, its best-ever first quarter, as higher margins on refining and chemical operations offset lower prices for crude oil and natural gas.
Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said Thursday it earned $9.3 billion in the January-March period, beating Wall Street expectations, even as revenue slipped and fell well short of analysts' forecasts.
The market price for crude oil was off more than $5 a barrel in the first quarter versus a year ago. The comparable price for natural gas also was down.
Still, oil majors were getting little sympathy. "They're hurting me all the way around," Bill LoGerfo of Staten Island said Thursday as he paid $3.27 a gallon for premium unleaded in Manhattan. Regular unleaded was $3.03 a gallon.
Exxon Mobil said its first-quarter earnings rose 10 percent
BP PLC reported a 17 percent drop in first-quarter earnings
ConocoPhillips' first-quarter profit rose 7.7 percent
Valero Energy Corp.'s first-quarter profit jumped 35 percent

NEW YORK -
<b>O</b>il giant Exxon Mobil Corp. kicked off 2007 with a 10 percent rise in profits, its best-ever first quarter, as higher margins on refining and chemical operations offset lower prices for crude oil and natural gas.<BR>
Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said Thursday it earned $9.3 billion in the January-March period, beating Wall Street expectations, even as revenue slipped and fell well short of analysts' forecasts.<BR>
The market price for crude oil was off more than $5 a barrel in the first quarter versus a year ago. The comparable price for natural gas also was down.<BR>
Still, oil majors were getting little sympathy. "They're hurting me all the way around," Bill LoGerfo of Staten Island said Thursday as he paid $3.27 a gallon for premium unleaded in Manhattan. Regular unleaded was $3.03 a gallon.<BR>
Exxon Mobil said its first-quarter earnings rose 10 percent<BR>
BP PLC reported a 17 percent drop in first-quarter earnings<BR>
ConocoPhillips' first-quarter profit rose 7.7 percent<BR>
Valero Energy Corp.'s first-quarter profit jumped 35 percent<BR>